Adjustable locator retaining wall block and mold apparatus

ABSTRACT

A system of retaining wall blocks, a method of assembling a retaining wall block assembly, and a mold for manufacturing retaining wall blocks having adjustable engagement configurations.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/838,205, entitled “Masonry Blocks,” filed Jun. 21,2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to retaining wall blocks, and morespecifically to a retaining wall having adjustable positioningengagements and a mold for manufacturing such.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Retaining wall blocks can be manufactured and arranged in a variety ofdifferent ways.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system of retaining wall blocks, a method of assembling a retainingwall block assembly, and a mold for manufacturing retaining wall blockshaving adjustable engagement configurations.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to thefollowing drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarilyto scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating theprinciples of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, likereference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the severalviews, and in which:

FIGS. 1A through 1C are diagrams of a retaining wall block in accordancewith in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 2A through 2C are diagrams of retaining wall blocks in accordancewith in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 3A through 3B are diagrams of retaining wall blocks in accordancewith in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 4A through 4B are diagrams of a mold shoe in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a mold shoe in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method for manufacturing a retaining wallwith an adjustable incline angle, in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the description that follows, like parts are marked throughout thespecification and drawings with the same reference numerals. The drawingfigures might not be to scale and certain components can be shown ingeneralized or schematic form and identified by commercial designationsin the interest of clarity and conciseness.

FIGS. 1A through 1C are diagrams of a retaining wall block 100 inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.Retaining wall block 100 can be formed from masonry, concrete or othersuitable materials, using a wet cast process, a dry cast process orother suitable processes. As shown in FIG. 1A, retaining wall block 100includes a top face 105, engagement cavity 110, and textured front face115. Textured front face 115 can be formed by splitting retaining wallblock 100 from a second retaining wall block 100, as discussed ingreater detail below. As shown in FIG. 1B, which is a front view ofretaining wall block 100, front face 115 includes a false joint 120 foraesthetic purposes.

As shown in FIG. 1C, which is a side view of retaining wall block 100,retaining wall block 100 further includes bottom surface 125 having atleast one engagement protrusion 130. Engagement protrusion 130 isconfigured to interface with engagement cavity 110 of an underlyingretaining wall block 100. Furthermore, the front engagement cavity 110is offset from the location of engagement protrusion 130, so as toresult in a staggered incline as successive rows of retaining wallblocks 100 are formed. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, theincline of successive rows of retaining wall blocks 100 is generallyvertical with no staggering.

FIGS. 2A through 2C are diagrams of two engaged retaining wall blocks100 and 200, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, retaining wall blocks 100 and 200include top faces 105 and 205, respectively, engagement cavities 110 and210, respectively, and textured front faces 115 and 215, respectively.As previously discussed, retaining wall blocks 100 and 200 can also havefalse joints 120 and 220, respectively, for aesthetic purposes, as shownin FIG. 2B. Likewise, other suitable false joints can also oralternatively be used.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, first retaining wall block100 is disposed onto a top surface 205 of a second retaining wall block200. As shown in FIG. 2C, first retaining wall block 100 can positionedso that engagement protrusions 130 align with and fit into engagementcavity 210 of second retaining wall block 200.

In, one embodiment of the present disclosure, the angle andconfiguration of engagement notches 110 and 210 and engagement members130 and 230 can be varied to allow the blocks 100, 200 to be assembledwith an offset. In one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure,the angle of engagement notches 110 and 210 can be between about 30degrees and about 90 degrees. Likewise, the angle of engagement members130 and 230 can be between about 30 degrees and about 90 degrees.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams of retaining wall blocks 302A, 302B and302C, in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 3A shows an overhead view of retaining wall blocks302A, 302B and 302C, with block 302A centered over blocks 302B and 302C.In addition, internal support 304A of block 302A is aligned withinternal support 306B of block 302B, and internal support 306A of block302A is aligned with internal support 304C of block 302C.

FIG. 3B shows an underside view of retaining wall blocks 302A, 302B and302C. As can be seen, the blocks are H-shaped, and each includeengagement cavities on a top surface and engagement protrusions on abottom surface that can interlock with the engagement cavities at thetop of underlying blocks. The location of the engagement cavities andengagement protrusions is adjustable, as previously described, so as toallow the angle of incline for the wall to be selected.

FIG. 4A through 4B are diagrams 400A and 400B of a mold formanufacturing retaining wall blocks, in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. The mold can be formed from steelor other suitable materials, and can be configured to handle masonry,cement or other suitable materials.

As shown in FIGS. 4A through 4B, the mold includes a base portion 402having a ridge 404, which is used to form the notch at the top of theblock. The body 406 of the mold is placed on top of the base portion,and a shoe 408 with adjustable inserts 410 and 412 are provided that canbe used to create blocks with different angles of incline, such as toallow a wall designer to specify an angle of incline. Inserts 410 and412 interlock with shoe 408, such as by using a mechanical interlockdevice, screws or in other suitable manners.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a mold shoe 500 in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. Mold shoe 500 includes body 502and insert channel 505 that can be used to change the location of the atleast one engagement protrusion. For example, by using insert A 510, thelocation of the at least one engagement protrusion is farther back thanwhen using insert B 515. The location of the at least one engagementprotrusion defines the incline of the wall, such as to allow the inclineto be adjusted based on design specifications.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method for manufacturing a retaining wallwith an adjustable incline angle, in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. Method 600 begins at 602, where aninset associated with a selected angle of incline is selected andincorporated into a mold. In one exemplary embodiment, the inset can beconfigured to interlock with a shoe of a mold assembly, such as by usinga mechanical interlock, can be secured using screws or can otherwise beattached to the mold assembly. The method then proceeds to 604.

At 604, the mold is filled with masonry, cement or other suitablematerials.

At 606, the shoe is used to compress the material into the mold and theshoe and mold is then removed.

At 608, the material is allowed to harden.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merelyexamples of possible implementations. Many variations and modificationsmay be made to the above-described embodiments without departing fromthe principles of the present disclosure. All such modifications andvariations are intended to be included herein within the scope of thisdisclosure and protected by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system of retaining wall blocks, the systemcomprising: a plurality of retaining wall blocks, each block comprising:a front face having a textured surface; a first surface having at leastone engagement cavity; and a second surface having at least oneengagement protrusion, wherein the at least one engagement protrusion ofa first retaining wall block are configured to engage at least oneengagement cavity of an adjacent retaining wall block; and a firstcourse of retaining wall blocks engaged with a second course ofretaining wall blocks below, wherein the at least one engagementprotrusion and the at least one engagement cavity of a retaining wallblock in the first course and a retaining wall block in the secondcourse are adjustably engaged in a plurality of configurations, eachconfiguration defining a setback arrangement of the system of retainingwall blocks.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least oneengagement protrusion of a retaining wall block in the first course ofretaining wall blocks is configured to engage with the at least oneengagement cavity of a retaining wall block in the second course ofretaining wall blocks below.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the atleast one engagement cavity of a retaining wall block in the firstcourse of retaining wall blocks is configured to engage with the atleast one engagement protrusion of a retaining wall block in the secondcourse of retaining wall blocks below.
 4. A method for assembling aretaining wall assembly, the method comprising: selecting a firstretaining wall block having at least one engagement cavity and at leastone adjustable engagement protrusion; selecting a second retaining wallblock having at least one engagement cavity and at least one adjustableengagement protrusion; and depositing the first retaining wall blockonto a surface of the second retaining wall block, wherein the at leastone engagement cavity of the first retaining wall block engages with theat least one adjustable engagement protrusion of the second retainingwall block to define a retaining wall assembly setback configuration. 5.A mold for an adjustable retaining wall block, the mold comprising: abase having at least one ridge to produce at least one engagement cavityon a molded block; a body on top of the base, the body defining theH-shaped exterior dimensions of the molded block; and a mold shoe havingan adjustable insert to produce at least one engagement protrusion onthe molded block.